Reeves’s planning overhaul stalls as senior adviser quits after four months | Planning policy

Rachel Reeves’ attempts to overhaul Britain’s planning laws have suffered a major blow after a senior lawyer she appointed as an adviser decided to leave the government after just four months.

Catherine Howard will leave the Treasury when her contract ends on January 1, despite being unofficially asked to stay on indefinitely.

Howard is said to have warned the government against immediately pursuing some of its most radical proposals to sweep away planning regulations in a bid to encourage more infrastructure projects.

His decision to leave his post comes amid disagreements at the top of government over how far to push his deregulation agenda, with some senior officials warning that Keir Starmer’s latest attempt to revive major construction projects could damage relations with the EU.

Concern is also growing among some Labor MPs, with 30 of them writing to the Prime Minister this week urging him not to pursue some of his most radical planning reforms.

Howard said in a statement: “Over the past four months, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as the Chancellor’s infrastructure and planning advisor, and I have had the ability to advise Her Majesty’s Treasury and help guide the important steps the Government is taking to improve the planning system to support economic growth.

“I look forward to continuing my engagement with the UK Treasury and Government as I return to the private sector.”

Starmer and Reeves have put planning at the heart of their economic growth effort, which has so far struggled to gain traction, with figures released on Friday showing the economy shrank by 0.1% in the three months to October.

Howard was appointed in September to help advise Reeves on planning changes leading up to the budget, a move welcomed by senior government officials and some Labor MPs. Chris Curtis, co-chair of the Labor Growth Group, said at the time that she would be an “outstanding addition” to the Treasury.

Curtis told the Guardian: “Catherine has made a major contribution during her time at the Treasury, including ensuring that the biggest changes to planning in a generation will soon be passed into law. Her expertise has been a great asset to the government.”

Howard was then asked to stay as long as she could because the Treasury had found her advice useful, but she decided to leave in January to return to her role as an associate at the private law firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.

When she was in government, she reportedly disagreed with Starmer’s decision to announce he would fully and more quickly adopt the recommendations of a review into the construction of nuclear power stations, written by economist John Fingleton.

Starmer said in a post-Budget speech last week: “As well as accepting Fingleton’s recommendations, I am calling on the business secretary to apply these lessons across the whole industrial strategy. »

Fingleton made a number of suggestions, including changing the rules regarding protected species and increasing radiation limits for those who live near or work at a nuclear power plant.

He suggested infrastructure projects should pay a large, pre-agreed upfront sum to the government’s Quango Natural England instead of protecting or replacing habitats lost to development.

Its review also recommended making judicial reviews against infrastructure projects more costly for individuals and charities.

Fingleton told the Guardian earlier this week: “We need to have a more mature relationship with risk. Often projects don’t come to fruition because of concerns about security, but often all you do is move the risk elsewhere.”

Howard believed Starmer should not have accepted his recommendations to repeal EU laws on derived habitats before seeking legal advice on their compliance with legally binding natural targets and trade deals with the EU.

It outlined concerns shared by government departments including the Cabinet Office and the Department of the Environment, which said the review could jeopardize trade with the EU and lead to widespread habitat destruction.

These concerns are also shared by some Labor backbenchers.

Chris Hinchliff, Labor MP for North East Hertfordshire, led a campaign against the review.

He said: “It’s time for our Labor Government to stop portraying nature as the enemy of a better life for ordinary people in this country and realize that, for the vast majority, it is a measure of it. »